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Barbarian lands (Utter East)
East of the kingdom of Ulgarth, in the northern Utter East of the far southeast Faerûn lay barbarian-inhabited lands. The name and exact location and nature of this area are unknown, but several sources make allusions to the area and it is depicted as a space on maps. This article is pieced together from such references. Geography The land was a vast plain, uncharted by the neighboring civilizations. In the west, by the border with Ulgarth, lay Barbarians' Road. In the southwest corner was the Stony Waste. A river ran across the far eastern side, and the plains abutted the A-Ling Shan, part of the great Yehimal, in the east and the first range crossing the Utter East in the south. Inhabitants The land was inhabited by a horse-riding barbarian people. Nothing is known of these people, not even their name, bar one capitalized mention of "the Horde" in ''The Shining South'' (1993). In earlier chapters, the book refers to the Tuigan Horde, so it is possible the Tuigan were intended here. If so, the mentions of the "Utter East" in the Ulgarth chapter may have been intended to refer to the Hordelands and Kara-Tur, as many early sourcebooks used "the Utter East" to refer to these lands. However, other sources conclusively placed the Utter East in the far southeast Faerûn, well away from the Hordelands and Kara-Tur. Furthermore, maps and the mountainous geography around the Utter East make a connection to the Hordelands impossible. Thus, these barbarians cannot be the Tuigan Horde without a more complex explanation or invention. Instead, the barbarians might possibly be remnants of the barbarian tribes of Ulgarth's history, when it was ruled by warchiefs, before colonization and the rise of cities and the kingdom. Alternatively, the artwork on page 77 of The Shining South depicts a horse-riding barbarian somewhat reminiscent of a Viking, suggesting they are descended from the Northmen who settled the Utter East. In the game Blood & Magic, set in the Utter East, Rathgar the Raider is described as "scourge of north lands", suggesting a possible connection to this area. Relations In the 14th century DR. the folk of Ulgarth knew the people of this land as "the Horde", as barbarians to the east who regularly gathered in great hosts to raid their settlements. The kingdom was vigilant, well-prepared, and even paranoid in defending itself. Convict armies regularly patrolled the eastern borders. Nevertheless, the people of the city of Kaspar preferred to trade with them, though guardedly, and took the pick of their horses after a raid. History Maelin Rascalin, once a notorious bandit turned a convict soldier, became one of the greatest generals of Ulgarth's history by repeating hurling back invading armies of Horde barbarians. After successfully defending against a 1000-strong host, he was granted the barony of Suormpar; his grandson was baron by 1367 DR. Appendix Notes Gallery File:Ulgarth map SS.jpg|A map of Ulgarth from The Shining South (1993), with the uncharted plains stretching away in the east. References Category:Plains Category:Locations in the Utter East Category:Locations in Southeast Faerûn Category:Locations in Faerûn Category:Locations on Toril Category:Locations